Free Republic

Three and a half years ago, Terry Pratchett, the beloved author of the Discworld series, announced that he has early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Now he's made an even more startling announcement. Pratchett, who has campaigned in his native United Kingdom for the right of assisted suicide, has begun the formal process of assisted suicide in Switzerland, one of the few countries in the world to legalize euthanasia. Specifically, this would take place at Dignitas, a clinic that provides qualified doctors and nurses to assist with the patients' suicides. Dignitas has sent Pratchett the paperwork he needs to sign to begin the...

When the world didn't end on May 21, many people who had given up their earthly possessions were left with nothing. But one believer never lived to see the day. She left nearly her entire estate -- around $300,000 -- to the group behind the failed prediction, leaving some family members out in the cold. Eileen Heuwetter was shocked to find out that her aunt left the majority of her estate to Family Radio, the group responsible for the doomsday warnings that the world would end on May 21. She and her sister were each left $25,000 from their aunt's...

I recently came across an update from Kel Tec on their new bullpup KSG pump shotgun that garnered so much attention at this year’s SHOT show in January and that Phil Bourjaily called the most innovative new shotgun. This video shows how Kel Tec addressed concerns brought up by folks who got to handle the weapon at the trade show. Most notably, the original 15-round-capacity (14 shells in two 7-round tubes, plus one in the chamber), 26.1” long shotgun had some problems with the trigger reset. If a shooter fired the weapon and kept the trigger depressed while cycling the...

I'm a big fan of written SF. I can enjoy reading authors whose political views differ from my own so long as their politics don't clumsily interfere with the story. I recalled an essay by Arthur C. Clarke that illustrates just how whacked out his views were. and was able to find it online. I present to you an excerpt from "Scenario for a Civilized Planet", in which he outlines what weaponry would be permitted. Mind you, he thinks this will apply to the entire planet: http://www.lightmillennium.org/2006_18th/arthur_c_clarke_civilized.html (yeah, it's looney webite...what a shock) High-tech weapon systems are the crutches of...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla., April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Improved Guns, Inc., a not for profit company, is founded to promote the US Pat 7,036,258, which is aimed at eliminating accidental shooting. The passive device is a pin that must be broken before the gun can be shot. Any firearm can be adapted by drilling a small hole in which to insert the appropriate pin. These pins are made with incremental breaking thresholds having a range of 11.5-15.5 lbs. Improved Guns, Inc. can easily retrofit all guns at our cost, although donations are appreciated. Hopefully, new guns will soon include...

Laser guns will replace traditional air pistols in the modern pentathlon at the 2012 London Olympics after a successful trial at the inaugural Youth Olympics. The technology will reduce the cost of the shooting element of the five-event sport by two thirds, while the improved safety could mean new venues are used. Klaus Schormann, president of world governing body the UIPM, said: "We will have laser shooting for London. "We can now hold competitions in parks and shopping malls." Schormann, who is in Singapore for the 14-day Youth Olympics, which finish on Thursday, added: "Based on this new technology, all...

If you're an orc or a wizard, you'd better keep your nose clean. A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit weighed in Wednesday on a matter of grievous import to the nation's prisons: Dungeons & Dragons. And the Court's ruling was bad news for naughty nerds nationwide, concluding that the innocent-seeming board game was inviting trouble. The case brought before the Appeals Court argued that D&D inhibited prison security, because "cooperative games can mimic the organization of gangs and lead to the actual development thereof." And therefore Kevin T. Singer, a long-time dungeon-explorer...

I'm thinking about picking up one of the new breed of "tactical" .22 LR rifles. I was considering the HK416: and the SIG 522: A friend of mine is going to grab a Ruger SR-22 at the next show, but I already have a 10/22. I was leaning towards the H&K, but look what just came out: the ISSC Mk22, which is a virtual clone of the FN SCAR in .22 LR. Tacticooly, this one pegs the needle. Opinions?

The White House on Thursday said the controversial field of synthetic biology, or manipulating the DNA of organisms to forge new life forms, poses limited risks and should be allowed to proceed. An expert panel convened by President Barack Obama advised vigilance and self-regulation as scientists seeks ways to create new organisms that could spark useful innovations in clean energy, pollution control and medicine. The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues "concluded that synthetic biology is capable of significant but limited achievements posing limited risks," it said in its first report. "Future developments may raise further objections, but...

With the election coming up, I thought it would be fun to post this to get a feel for everyone's numbers. I'll start with mine: Economic Left/Right: 8.25 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -1.23 Smack-dab in Milton Friedman territory. Cool! Some of the questions are a bit odd...what does one's belief in astrology or opinion of abstract art have to do with anything? That being said, it's still one of the better quizzes out there. An X/Y axis is a much better way of describing political viewpoints than the traditional left/right scale.

Holy tricked-out ride, Batman! The '60s-style Batmobile is now available -- for those with Bruce Wayne bank accounts -- in life-sized replica form. DC Comics has officially licensed Fiberglass Freaks to re-create, down to the flame throwers (working, natch), the futuristic car that the Caped Crusader drove in the 1960s TV series. For $150,000, you too could keep Gotham City safe. Or at least look really, really cool while sitting in traffic. Each car frame is built around a 1970s Lincoln Town Car. And only eight of these hand-crafted beauties roll off the factory floor each year. Company founder Mark...

Ike Ditzenberger is like a lot of other 17-year-old American football players. He dreams of playing college football. He attends daily practices. Most of the time he toils away in offensive drills. Then, on rare occasions, Ditzenberger runs into the limelight with aplomb. The description could fit thousands of American teenagers, except for one crucial detail: Ike Ditzenberger has Down Syndrome. Ditzenberger, a junior at Snohomish (Wash.) High School, achieved a major milestone on Friday in a game against Lake Stevens, running 51 yards for a touchdown with 10 seconds remaining. The "Ike Special" provided the only points in Snohomish's...

If you could eliminate one person from history, who would it be? One caveat: it can't be Muhammad, for one simple reason: almost everyone is going to pick him! This would get rather monotonous, so let's just assume that 90% (at least) of the responses would pick Muhammad first. If you still pick him...BZZT I'm sorry, you've lost, thank you for playing and here's a copy of our home game. And let's not have anyone picking Muhammad's father or grandfather just to get at him, either. That's cheating. Ok, now that that's out of the way, who do you pick?...

As many times as I've explained how party trumps person in the real world of politics, some people misunderstand my meaning. It doesn't mean party trumps principle, although broad-based political coalitions may compromise conflicting principles. And it doesn't mean that individuals can't make a difference in politics and public policy. But like it or not, we have a two-party system, and that's not going to change anytime soon. Minor parties and their candidates can be spoilers, but rarely do they win elections. Either Republicans or Democrats will be the majority party in legislative bodies, and with that majority status goes...

10 Occupations with Largest Percentage of African-Americans 1. Barbers—35.0% 2. Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides—34.0% 3. Residential advisors—29.6% 4. Security guards and gaming surveillance officers—28.6% 5. Postal service clerks-28.3% 6. Baggage porters, bellhops, and concierges—27.1% 7. Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators—26.4% 8. Taxi drivers and chauffeurs—25.7% 9. Bus drivers—24.9% 10. Parking lot attendants—24.4% 10 Occupations with Smallest Percentages of African-Americans 1. Artists and related workers—0.8% 2. Environmental scientists and geoscientists—1.0% 3. Cost estimators—1.1% 4. Farmers and ranchers—1.4% 4. Dentists—1.4% 4. Surveying and mapping technicians—1.4% 7. Farm, ranch, and other agricultural managers—1.5% 8. News analysts, reporters...

DEARBORN, Mich. -- A Michigan high school football team is holding preseason practices in the middle of the night to help its Muslim players practice both faith and football. The predominantly Muslim squad from Dearborn says the nocturnal regimen is a way for players to eat and drink while observing the holy month of daytime fasting known as Ramadan that started last week. The August heat also played a factor in Fordson High coach Fouad Zaban's proposal to reverse the clock for a week of two-a-day practices. Cutting practice wasn't an option at football-crazy Fordson, which is coming off a...

The ninth conviction was the breaking point for one Texas judge who earlier this week sentenced a habitual drunken driver to life in prison. A Texas man is sentenced to life in prison for his ninth DWI conviction. Bobby Stovall, 54, was driving his truck in Round Rock, Texas, in early July when he weaved through several lanes of traffic and hit another vehicle, injuring the driver. It was later determined that Stovall had a blood alcohol concentration of .32, four times the legal limit in Texas. And while that DWI was certainly enough to get Stovall in trouble with...

The forthcoming Will Ferrell-Mark Wahlberg flick The Other Guys may yet be riddled with pot shots from film critics. Poor Ferrell and Wahlberg -- on Muni, they can't shoot back. While the official poster for the film features a maniacal Ferrell and the menacing Wahlberg sailing through the air, guns drawn, the version in Muni stations features Ferrell brandishing a vial of pepper spray and Wahlberg relying upon his bare fists. This is not a coincidence. "Well, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency does have an advertising policy that states ads should not appear to promote the use of firearms...

Researchers have calculated that the planet could have taken far longer to form following the birth of the solar system 4.567 billion years ago than scientists have previously believed. By comparing chemical isotopes from the Earth's mantle with those from meteorites, geologists at the University of Cambridge claim the planet reached its current size around 4.467 billion years ago. Scientists have in the past estimated that the Earth's development, a process known as accretion where gas, dust and other material clumped together to form the planet, happened over just 30 million years. But the new research suggests this process may...

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (CN) - Fort Wayne public schools let Christian churches bring a trailer onto campuses and give students "religious release time" instead of attending "their regular class schedule," and does it without parents' permission, parents say in a federal complaint. Fort Wayne Community Schools lets the Associated Churches of Fort Wayne and Allen County use public school property and time to run "a religious release time program, entitled Weekday Religious Education, for students in the third, fourth and fifth grades," according to the complaint. The churches call it "a Christian program that works in cooperation with area public...